Man... no matter how many times I watch this it is always awesome. They just updated it, and in my opinion made it more Christ-centered.
I just love the line, "You were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious, righteous, right hand. Don’t you forget that. In this relationship, I hold you up"
Thank you Lord.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
6 days... plus 30
I said that in 6 days I'd bla(h)g... like 30 days ago... regardless, I'm glad I wrote that because it reminded me to write about jellyfish and lost dreams.
Several years ago I attended a youth workers convention in San Diego. At that convention I Phil Vischer- the creator of VeggieTales- speak. I liked his talk so much that I ended up buying a DVD of it. He told the story of how his crazy idea of animated talking vegetables went from a cute idea to a multimillion dollar enterprise to bankruptcy in a matter of 5 years. It is a fascinating story that I won't get in to, but he asked the question that I was thinking as I was listening... why?
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago- I'm driving in my car on a Sunday morning heading to church. Now, I don't know why exactly I have this tradition- maybe its to get me in the "worshipful" mood- or maybe I'm a pietist schwarmer- but for whatever reason, as I'm driving to church I always listen to Christian radio. Sometimes it is already tuned in, but more often than not I have to dial in the ol' 98.5 for the 15 minute journey to church. Anyway, I have it on and hear Phil Vischer talking about his VeggieTales story but this time he talks about how he wants to be a jellyfish, and I was reminded why I loved his talk that I heard 5 years ago, and why I too want to be a jellyfish.
Allow me to attempt to put them both in one nice and neat package.
First of all, why? Why would God give Phil this huge ministry only to take it away? Or why would God give Bob his dream job only for him to get laid off 6 months later? Or why would God put "the one" in Walt's life, only to have her go far, far away, never to see Walt again? Why? Why do these awesome things happen only to seemingly randomly fall apart? I see it all the time- I really do. I'm don't think I believe in coincidences or fate or destiny. That is, I know that God is Lord over all things. He IS power, He IS dominion, He IS God... So, fate or happenstance- I don't think I buy into that. I really don't know, though- because I wonder- does God care (care isn't the right word, but I hope you get my point) about Tebow winning football games? Or is God really helping me remember facts for a test that I didn't study for? These types of things- to what extent God interweaves Himself into our daily activities, I do not know. The classic example is a hot July Saturday there are dozens of brides praying earnestly for no rain so their wedding can go off without a hitch. At the same time there are hundreds of farmers praying for a downpour so their crops can grow and they can feed their kids... who's prayers are more "important"? OK, OK, those questions can be discussed later- but methinks they fall under the same general idea- Why does God do what He does?
Does this question make you feel as uneasy as it does me? I don't like to ask that at all, because I trust God- I really do. I know He is bigger than me, and I rejoice over that fact! If God was only as intelligent or as mighty as the smartest, strongest man, imagine how hopeless we would be. I know God is big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. As such, I am not one to ask such a haughty question as why does God do what He does.
BUT.
I do wonder... so...
2 Kings 4 has an interesting story that could shed some light on this subject-
Whenever Elisha visited Shunem there was a woman who would feed him. He came around enough that she and her husband even gave him a room on their roof to sleep in whenever he was in town. Elisha was so grateful that he wanted to show her his gratitude. She was along in years and she had no son, so Elisha told her that by this time next year she would be holding a little baby boy. She was shocked and even said, "don't you mess with me, oh man of God!" But Elisha wasn't messing with her- just as he said a year later she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Such joy! Such jubilation! All of her dreams had come true!
The boy grew and everyone was happy until one morning this young boy complained of a headache. By noon he had died in his mother's lap. The woman (we don't know her name) jumped on a donkey and rode out to Elisha. She was in great anguish- in essence she asked, "why did you give me my dream only to have it taken away?!?!" Why did you give me a son only for him to die so young? Elisha told her to go back home, but the Shunammite woman said she would not leave Elisha's side. So Elisha went with her to her home and found the boy dead on the couch. Elisha prayed and then laid on the lad- eyes to eyes hands to hands mouth to mouth. The boy sneezed seven times and woke up. The woman had her son back and she praised the Lord.
What on earth? Why did this all take place? Why would God give this woman her dream- a son- only to have it taken away... to only give him back to her?
I don't know.
But Vischer thinks, and I just might agree with him, that this happened so to make sure that God was still Lord of her life. That is to say, it is easy to rely on God when your dreams are shattered and your hopes are dashed, right? After all, when the going gets tough, the tough get praying. But what about when that dream comes true? I know I struggle to be the one leper who thanks God for healing. I'm often out enjoying being healed, you know? I've seen the movie story line over and over again- the nerdy kid becomes popular and forgets where he came from- that kind of an idea. Perhaps this was a test to see where the Shunammite woman would turn when her dream had (literally) died. And what did she do? She turned immediately to God. And she wouldn't leave His servant. Her eyes were still heavenward- even though her dreams had come true, so God returned her to her dream. Her son was restored to life.
I like that explanation of this account. I haven't read any commentaries on 2 Kings 4, so I don't know if that is a widely held summation or not, regardless, I'm a fan. We are so blessed. We have so many good and wonderful things in our lives- things that can easily become a distraction. We pray and pray for this or that, and when we are given it, we forget about the source. (I realize I'm speaking generally here). Thanks be to God that He sometimes takes those things away so that we might regain focus on the Source of all our blessings. Sometimes He gives us our dreams back. Sometimes- as with Job- He gives it back exponentially grander than before! And, sometimes, our dreams stay dead. God, however, is still there. He is still God. He is still Lord over our lives. He is what matters. His love and grace and salvation won through Jesus is THE dream come true in our lives, and we are assured that nothing can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus. Shattered dreams are a gift from God. The lost job, broken heart, departed loved one, and forgotten friend are all reminders that our faith in Jesus is all that matters.
He is Lord over our lives.
Apparently, according to Phil, jellyfish, for the most part, are unable to propel themselves. At least, they can't cover great distances under their own power. Rather, jellyfish are largely dependent on the tides and currents to take them to where they want to go. And this is OK because the current will keep them in warm water which is rich with their primary food source. As long as they ride the current, they're happy as clams.
I want to be a jellyfish. If God has Lordship over my life, and I truly trust in Him- If my hopes and dreams are truly in His hands and my greatest hope is in His Son's suffering and death on the cross, then I should have no problem letting His current take me to where He wants me to be. Why would I want to try and swim against the current- I'd only wear myself out and get nowhere. Rather, if I just trust the current like a good jellyfish, I can relax and know that I'm being taken to warm water rich with food. My joy and worth and completion doesn't rest in my dreams coming true, rather my joy and worth and completion is found in a loving God sending His one and only son to live the perfect life that I was unable to live, die so that I wouldn't have to, and rise again so that I could do the same. What Joy! He loves me THAT much? I'm worth Jesus' life?? Such worth! He who makes all things new is living within me through the waters of baptism?? I'm complete! These... these are good things.
Several years ago I attended a youth workers convention in San Diego. At that convention I Phil Vischer- the creator of VeggieTales- speak. I liked his talk so much that I ended up buying a DVD of it. He told the story of how his crazy idea of animated talking vegetables went from a cute idea to a multimillion dollar enterprise to bankruptcy in a matter of 5 years. It is a fascinating story that I won't get in to, but he asked the question that I was thinking as I was listening... why?
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago- I'm driving in my car on a Sunday morning heading to church. Now, I don't know why exactly I have this tradition- maybe its to get me in the "worshipful" mood- or maybe I'm a pietist schwarmer- but for whatever reason, as I'm driving to church I always listen to Christian radio. Sometimes it is already tuned in, but more often than not I have to dial in the ol' 98.5 for the 15 minute journey to church. Anyway, I have it on and hear Phil Vischer talking about his VeggieTales story but this time he talks about how he wants to be a jellyfish, and I was reminded why I loved his talk that I heard 5 years ago, and why I too want to be a jellyfish.
Allow me to attempt to put them both in one nice and neat package.
First of all, why? Why would God give Phil this huge ministry only to take it away? Or why would God give Bob his dream job only for him to get laid off 6 months later? Or why would God put "the one" in Walt's life, only to have her go far, far away, never to see Walt again? Why? Why do these awesome things happen only to seemingly randomly fall apart? I see it all the time- I really do. I'm don't think I believe in coincidences or fate or destiny. That is, I know that God is Lord over all things. He IS power, He IS dominion, He IS God... So, fate or happenstance- I don't think I buy into that. I really don't know, though- because I wonder- does God care (care isn't the right word, but I hope you get my point) about Tebow winning football games? Or is God really helping me remember facts for a test that I didn't study for? These types of things- to what extent God interweaves Himself into our daily activities, I do not know. The classic example is a hot July Saturday there are dozens of brides praying earnestly for no rain so their wedding can go off without a hitch. At the same time there are hundreds of farmers praying for a downpour so their crops can grow and they can feed their kids... who's prayers are more "important"? OK, OK, those questions can be discussed later- but methinks they fall under the same general idea- Why does God do what He does?
Does this question make you feel as uneasy as it does me? I don't like to ask that at all, because I trust God- I really do. I know He is bigger than me, and I rejoice over that fact! If God was only as intelligent or as mighty as the smartest, strongest man, imagine how hopeless we would be. I know God is big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. As such, I am not one to ask such a haughty question as why does God do what He does.
BUT.
I do wonder... so...
2 Kings 4 has an interesting story that could shed some light on this subject-
Whenever Elisha visited Shunem there was a woman who would feed him. He came around enough that she and her husband even gave him a room on their roof to sleep in whenever he was in town. Elisha was so grateful that he wanted to show her his gratitude. She was along in years and she had no son, so Elisha told her that by this time next year she would be holding a little baby boy. She was shocked and even said, "don't you mess with me, oh man of God!" But Elisha wasn't messing with her- just as he said a year later she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Such joy! Such jubilation! All of her dreams had come true!
The boy grew and everyone was happy until one morning this young boy complained of a headache. By noon he had died in his mother's lap. The woman (we don't know her name) jumped on a donkey and rode out to Elisha. She was in great anguish- in essence she asked, "why did you give me my dream only to have it taken away?!?!" Why did you give me a son only for him to die so young? Elisha told her to go back home, but the Shunammite woman said she would not leave Elisha's side. So Elisha went with her to her home and found the boy dead on the couch. Elisha prayed and then laid on the lad- eyes to eyes hands to hands mouth to mouth. The boy sneezed seven times and woke up. The woman had her son back and she praised the Lord.
What on earth? Why did this all take place? Why would God give this woman her dream- a son- only to have it taken away... to only give him back to her?
I don't know.
But Vischer thinks, and I just might agree with him, that this happened so to make sure that God was still Lord of her life. That is to say, it is easy to rely on God when your dreams are shattered and your hopes are dashed, right? After all, when the going gets tough, the tough get praying. But what about when that dream comes true? I know I struggle to be the one leper who thanks God for healing. I'm often out enjoying being healed, you know? I've seen the movie story line over and over again- the nerdy kid becomes popular and forgets where he came from- that kind of an idea. Perhaps this was a test to see where the Shunammite woman would turn when her dream had (literally) died. And what did she do? She turned immediately to God. And she wouldn't leave His servant. Her eyes were still heavenward- even though her dreams had come true, so God returned her to her dream. Her son was restored to life.
I like that explanation of this account. I haven't read any commentaries on 2 Kings 4, so I don't know if that is a widely held summation or not, regardless, I'm a fan. We are so blessed. We have so many good and wonderful things in our lives- things that can easily become a distraction. We pray and pray for this or that, and when we are given it, we forget about the source. (I realize I'm speaking generally here). Thanks be to God that He sometimes takes those things away so that we might regain focus on the Source of all our blessings. Sometimes He gives us our dreams back. Sometimes- as with Job- He gives it back exponentially grander than before! And, sometimes, our dreams stay dead. God, however, is still there. He is still God. He is still Lord over our lives. He is what matters. His love and grace and salvation won through Jesus is THE dream come true in our lives, and we are assured that nothing can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus. Shattered dreams are a gift from God. The lost job, broken heart, departed loved one, and forgotten friend are all reminders that our faith in Jesus is all that matters.
He is Lord over our lives.
Apparently, according to Phil, jellyfish, for the most part, are unable to propel themselves. At least, they can't cover great distances under their own power. Rather, jellyfish are largely dependent on the tides and currents to take them to where they want to go. And this is OK because the current will keep them in warm water which is rich with their primary food source. As long as they ride the current, they're happy as clams.
I want to be a jellyfish. If God has Lordship over my life, and I truly trust in Him- If my hopes and dreams are truly in His hands and my greatest hope is in His Son's suffering and death on the cross, then I should have no problem letting His current take me to where He wants me to be. Why would I want to try and swim against the current- I'd only wear myself out and get nowhere. Rather, if I just trust the current like a good jellyfish, I can relax and know that I'm being taken to warm water rich with food. My joy and worth and completion doesn't rest in my dreams coming true, rather my joy and worth and completion is found in a loving God sending His one and only son to live the perfect life that I was unable to live, die so that I wouldn't have to, and rise again so that I could do the same. What Joy! He loves me THAT much? I'm worth Jesus' life?? Such worth! He who makes all things new is living within me through the waters of baptism?? I'm complete! These... these are good things.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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